Abby Wambach says the U.S. Men's National Team should fire Jurgen Klinsmann
In October, on the eve of a big CONCACAF Cup playoff against Mexico, former USMNT star Landon Donovan suggested Klinsmann should be fired if the men's team wasn't producing.
On Wednesday, U.S. woman's star Abby Wambach took it a step further, directly calling for Klinsmann to be fired while on Bill Simmons' podcast.
Simmons asked what Wambach would do to fix USMNT, and Wambach didn't hold back.
"I would definitely fire Jurgen," Wambach said. "Sorry Sunil [Gulati], sorry U.S. soccer, but I don't think Jurgen and this litmus test on him has worked."
She continued, adding that she has one big gripe with Klinsmann's roster construction.
"He hasn't really focused, I feel like, enough attention on the youth program. Although he says he has, I don't think that he has. And I also believe that the way that he has changed and brought in a bunch of these foreign guys, it's just not something I believe in wholeheartedly. I don't believe in it."
Wambach added that she loves watching Jermaine Jones and Fabian Johnson (two German-born players on USMNT) play, but "I just think that this experiment that U.S. Soccer has given Jurgen isn't one that personally I'm into.
"It's gotta be interesting for those guys to see their coach take off in a helicopter and fly home to his home and then back to training."
While discussing the need to develop a better youth program and create a better culture in men's soccer, she took another stab at Klinsmann, saying, "It seems to me there are too many egos in our men's program right now and the bigger ego of all of them is the one who is leading the charge."
With Wambach set to retire after a friendly with China on Wednesday, she has discussed frequently how she'd like to stay around soccer, particularly as an analyst. With this kind of honesty, it seems she'll make waves when she does get to the booth.